I am whooping with agreement and so happy that you have said this, wellingtongoose. Voldemort was indeed capable of empathy and remorse. It happened after he killed Harry's parents and looked at the crying baby and realized he knew how this baby felt, and that he himself had created such desolation. (See the chapter "Bathilda's Secret" in Deathly Hallows: "he had killed the boy, and yet he was the boy...")
This empathy was what weakened his Avada Kedavra so much that he failed to kill the baby, and the remorse was what caused the pain that would have killed him (except for the Horcruxes) and banished his soul to the forest for years. Voldemort chose to keep empathy turned off for the remainder of his life, even though he could feel it, because it was unendurable. And he would have been better equipped to endure empathy and remorse if he'd had any nurturing at all, any, in his first few months when that kind of strength (=magic) is created from nothing except human-to-human interaction.
Voldemort's final Avada Kedavra was the last time he made that choice. Harry offered him the option of remorse and he decided to go for the kill instead. But he could have chosen remorse and stopped his violence. At any point. Yep. Choice.
You know how Tom Riddle's old orphanage was razed and an office high-rise built on the site? I like to imagine an AU in which the orphans he terrorized in the cave grew up to work for a foundation like Lumos (JKR's charity to move kids out of institutions into homes) to strengthen the lives of people who were cruelly denied nurturing and brain development in their infancy.
I actually forgot that part in the deathly hallows. That is a very good example of Voldemort engaging in empathy. I particularly love the idea that the orphans Voldemort terrorised would be able to grow up to lead happy successful lives!
This empathy was what weakened his Avada Kedavra so much that he failed to kill the baby, and the remorse was what caused the pain that would have killed him (except for the Horcruxes) and banished his soul to the forest for years. Voldemort chose to keep empathy turned off for the remainder of his life, even though he could feel it, because it was unendurable. And he would have been better equipped to endure empathy and remorse if he'd had any nurturing at all, any, in his first few months when that kind of strength (=magic) is created from nothing except human-to-human interaction.
Voldemort's final Avada Kedavra was the last time he made that choice. Harry offered him the option of remorse and he decided to go for the kill instead. But he could have chosen remorse and stopped his violence. At any point. Yep. Choice.
You know how Tom Riddle's old orphanage was razed and an office high-rise built on the site? I like to imagine an AU in which the orphans he terrorized in the cave grew up to work for a foundation like Lumos (JKR's charity to move kids out of institutions into homes) to strengthen the lives of people who were cruelly denied nurturing and brain development in their infancy.
<3
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